Fall/Winter Harvest Pizza

These flavors are not #strangebutgood to me, they are just #delicious, but Alex thought the combo would be, so here we are….

As I’ve said many a time by now, I am more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants cook than a recipe follower. On the one hand, I would be BOSS at Chopped, on the other hand, I would go down in flames because I wouldn’t have as many standard recipes to work into. I typically have to look up recipes any time I want to make a baked good or something that actually requires ratios. I rarely follow said recipe to a T, though…. I am hopeless and helpless.

I’m still attempting to organize my various pictures, so I am a bit handicapped with regards to providing recipes with pictures. To be honest as well, some of these recipes I am too darn proud of to show without a pic, even if something comparable exists in the web world (and I am sure it does).

Today I have a recipe that I mentioned in my Meatless Monday post, though I am going to cheat and talk about a version that includes chicken sausage. Sorry, but really I’m not. Also, this is another Man-Approved dish. And is good for them, to boot. Please adapt to your tastes and whatever you have on hand. You know how I do. Also, I cannot be held accountable for the awfulness of the pictures. It was a year ago.

Fall/Winter Harvest Pizza

Ingredients:

Pizza Crust: some options:

Whole wheat pizza dough (I think that you would like the nuttiness of a whole wheat crust to pair with the other flavors)

Na’an or other flat bread (would say to avoid garlic naan; Flat Out Wraps would be great)

Tortillas (what we used, because we had them–double them up and fuse them with cheese for a stuffed crust! This is what we did)

Sauce:

Cottage cheese! Go for a lower fat content, or whatever you have with less water

Honey Mustard and course-grain mustard

Spices/Herbs: (I don’t remember this exactly, so I would mostly go with what you like yourself)

Red pepper flake

Salt (be careful based on the saltiness of your cottage cheese)

Fresh Ground Pepper

Basil

Garlic

Parsley

Toppings

Protein: We used Sweet Apple Chicken Sausage, the sweet is offset by the tang of the mustard and salt of the ccheese

Veggies: (Again, what we used)

Roasted butternut squash

Beets (Fresh and boiled/peeled or from Trader Joe’s!)

Sauteed Red Onion

Spinach

Other

Chevre (could also use feta, but chevre is better for less salty and more creamy factors)

Some other thoughts of what might work:

Red grapes, apples, or plums (Would be great either roasted or left to add at the very last minute for a nice temperature contrast

Artichokes, Brussels (shaved and sauteed OR raw OR roasted and quartered)

fresh basil, rosemary, thyme

Cream Cheese (mix in with the ccheese and chevre)

Method:

Turn on oven to 375-400 based on the thickness of pizza crust.

Prep:

Prep your Crust: Prepare crust necessarily (bake the dough, grill the naan, glue the two tortillas together with cheese, etc).

IMPORTANT: remove from oven/whatever before it dries out–this is especially important if you are using the double tortilla method and are using whole wheat–WW and multigrain tortilla can dry out very quickly. Here are my suggestions for the tortilla crust:

Heat a large-enough saute pan on medium heat

Take 2 tortillas, spray one side each with either butter, olive oil, or cooking spray. Lay sprayed-side down.

sprinkle/spread cheese of choice (could also use a bit of the sauce, sans the mustard). Make sure that whatever binder you use has a melty element–cottage cheese will not allow for the proper adherence, so I would be sure to incorporate mozz, provolone, fontina, chevre, or even white cheddar.

Sandwich the 2 sides with greased-side out. Drop onto saute pan.

Get involved in the sauce preparation while one side cooks.

After you get some browning, flip and cover with a top to create an oven-like effect.

Remove from heat, but leave covered.

<li>Prep the sauce:&nbsp;Mix cottage cheese and mustard together (I think I went with about a 3:1 ratio) and mix in herbs and spices. Set aside.</li>
<li>Prep the veggies: cut according to desire, pan saute and sear. (not the spinach). make sure to season with similar herbs and spices as you used in the sauce (I also like a little bit of lemon juice here. Also don't season too aggressively--let the sauce be the herb and spice and the veg should taste of themselves, but heightened).</li>
<li><span style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.625;">Prep the protein: If sausage, slice and pan-sear.&nbsp;</span></li>
<li><strong>Assembly:</strong>

Slide the crust out of the saute pan in which it was chillin.

layer sauce, protein, veggies

Finish with chevre, spinach/basil, and fresh herbs and red pepper.

Pop into oven to reheat and get all creamy-melty (up to 5 minutes, but again, be careful of drying out).

Slide out of oven/pan (if using the stove-top-oven option)

NOMNOMNOM

Can also be rolled up burrito style if so desired.

I hope that you enjoy! Adapt to whatever is fresh!

Talk to Me, Goose:

Do your man-friends trust you enough to try these types of foods?

Alex told me the other day that he used to get really nervous when I would tell him what we were having, but he has since learned to trust me because it usually works out!

Have you read these gems?

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Suzlyfe is a Chicago-based healthy life, fitness, running, and food blog that aims to educate, connect, and inspire: educate readers in an accessible way about fitness, running, and wellness; connect readers to myself (Susie) and others with the same interests and passions; and inspire all to live a life beyond expectations.Email Me

Though I am a RRCA Certified Running Coach and NASM Certified Personal Trainer with a chronic illness, a physician husband, and a lot of experience, and though I may seem like a know it all, please remember that all views expressed on my blog are mine along. Consult your physician before making any personal changes to your mental or physical health and wellness programs.